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Syllabus

Digital Photography Syllabus 2016-2017

Welcome to Digital Photography 2, one of three plus classes you can take in Photography at Heritage.

Digital Photo One – CCTE class

Digital Photo Two – CCTE class

AP Digital Photography – CCTE class

Multimedia – Magazine Production – CCTE class

B&W Photography Darkroom – Art class taught be Mrs. Blessley.

What’s CCTE?

CCTE stands for College Career Technical Education = CCTE stands for College Career Technical Education = you learn skills in this class that actual photographers in the industry study and know. You’ll use equipment (Digital SLR cameras) and software (Adobe Bridge & Photoshop) that photographers use daily.

Each week we will have a different photo challenge. There will be a theme assigned to you, and you the student will shoot MULTIPLE IMAGES for each photo challenges. Keep shooting until you get the right image. BLURRY PHOTOS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Make sure what you shoot is something you care about.

I will compile all the Photo Challenge entries, pick the best one photo out of the two that you turn in (depending on the assignment) and make an online web gallery. Students will critique each others’ work, and then we will vote.

In order to qualify for voting, you must turn your photos in on the day it is due, NO EXCEPTIONS! Credit will be given for late work, but late work will not be admitted into the photo challenges. So stay on top of your work!

Photo Plagiarism

Photos must be images THAT YOU TOOK, if you did not press the shutter release button on the camera, then you did not take the picture. The cameras we use in class all have self-timers, as do most point and shoots. IF I FIND OUT YOU TURNED IN WORK THAT IS NOT YOUR OWN, YOU WILL GET A ZERO FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT, AND PARENTS WILL BE CONTACTED.

How to turn in your work (see directions posted on blog.)

Grading

As I mentioned before, your grade is based on the following:

Weekly Photo Challenges (50% of your grade)

Weekly comments (20% of your grade)

A few larger photography projects. (20% of your grade)

Short Tutorials (10% of your grade)

I grade on a 4-point scale, meaning each of your assignments are worth 4 points total.

I grade your assignments based on a rubric development to meet the criteria for that assignment. You’ll get that rubric back to see your final grade. Here’s an example of the rubric:

The Blog

I created this blog to make assignments and requirements easier to understand. Please read over the assignment before asking questions to me or anyone else.

Clear/In Focus

You will not receive higher than a C for turning in a blurry photo.

Composition

What choices did you make as a photographer as far as where the camera is placed in relation to the subject.(What you are taking a picture of)

These include: Rule of Thirds, Framing devices, Get Close, Leading lines, and Finding a unique angle on things.

Photoshop/Bridge Work

Most photos need some help to become great. This can mean cropping the photo a bit, increasing the clarity, changing the levels, adjusting brightness/contrast.

What we want to aim for is to say something with our photographs, but if you follow the standards above, it will help you do much better on your photo challenge grades.

Comments

Anytime I call for students to write comments, critiques, or evaluations, all of these goes towards their monthly comment grade. Each week I check the quality and amount of comments and give you a grade based on the level answer and the amount of comment each student gave.

Here is the rubric I use to grade comments.

CFG’s

Cfg’s or Critical Friend Groups, is the structure for how we will get work done in this class. We will discover who is in our CFGs during the first few days of class. You will stay with those people for the rest of the semester. You’ll be able to turn to them for support and you’ll support each other. Mostly this is used for critiquing photographs.

Late Work

Late work will be accepted until the end of the grading period- that’s your cut off point- no work will be accepted from that grading period when it ends. I will give you a one week notice.

When you do turn in late work, I need to know it has been posted since I won’t be looking for it. You will need to grab a paper rubric from the front of the room, add your name, and place it on my desk.

Behavior and Checking out Cameras – Or, Don’t be a jerk, Dude.

In this class, you will be allowed to shoot anywhere on campus, except for the bathrooms and the outer fields, for up to 15 minutes.

Here are the steps for checking out a camera

1-2 people and 1 camera per pass.

You must sign out the camera (student names, camera number, tripod number, time out & in)

Fill out the small square pass and keep it out with you at all times.

Partners must stick together. Failure to report back before the time on the pass will result in one warning, then for each infraction you lose photo pass privileges for one week.

We are a professional learning environment, one that is supposed to emulate the world of work. Because of this, we will act like professional at all times, including the hallways. Profanity, sliding down stairs, running in the hallways, taking pictures of people without their permission, or misbehaving in the hallways will not be tolerated.

Failure to adhere to the above professional conduct rules will result in one warning, then a loss of hall pass privileges for one week for each additional infraction.

Photo Passes

Photo passes are a privilege, not a right. In order to get a photo pass you must do the following:

Have a C or better in the class.

Be on time that day to take photos.

Other reasons you can have your pass revoked:

Taking pictures of people without asking their permission.

Interrupting any other class or school activity without permission.

Coming back late on a regular basis.

Checking out cameras to take home

If you prove that you are responsible, make good use of class time and have excellent attendance, you earn permission to check out a camera and camera bag overnight by recording your name, date, and camera number in the binder. You must return the camera before 2nd period the following day in the same condition you checked it out. Failure to do so will result in a loss of camera privileges.

Tardy & Attendance -Or, missing lots of class = Fail

Being on time to Photo class is essential in everyone’s success. If you miss a discussion, or important information, you will not be informed. Look to the daily blog posts for missed information.

School Tardy Policy – Enforced in This Class.

Please note that 3 tardies = lunch detention. Don’t let it be you!

Seating Chart

You get to choose your own seat. If you like where you set, please follow the rules below and you can stay there as long as you like! However, if you are a disturbance to others or a disruption to me, expect to be moved.

Things I shouldn’t have to say, but you’d be surprised.

Food is NOT allowed in this room or in any computer lab. Drinks are okay, as long as they are capped and away from computers.

Do not mess with anyone’s computer. Pranks, unplugging, or turning off people’s computers in the middle of a work sessions, will result in detentions, referrals and loss of computer pass privileges. We are here to support each other as the professionals we are.

Lining up at the door is a waste of your time and sends me the message that you do not care about this class, or me. WE WORK BELL TO BELL.

You may listen to music on the computer, through online streaming sites, or through iPods, mp3 players, etc. but please BRING YOUR OWN HEADPHONES.

Derogatory or inflammatory language to one another is not tolerated.

Treat the equipment and computers with utmost respect.

Video Games are Never Allowed in Here. If you finish with your work, search for tutorials, photographers, etc. Something related to Photography. There is a ton of information out there!

Have fun, and express yourself, these aren’t just assignments, this is art, and life is better with art in it!

Cell Phone Policy

Cell phones are to be used for class purposes only. (Downloading photos from the internet, setting a calendar for a photo shoot, etc.) Students are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to leave their phones off and away. Spending time on your phone instead of working on photos, playing around with photoshop/lightroom means you don’t get the most out of this free experience.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY. DO YOUR BEST!!

Contact Sheets

In addition to turning in weekly photo challenges, you will submit a contact sheet for each project we have. We’ll do a variety of activities around these contact sheets.

If you agree to these rules, respond to the comments section of this post with the following AT THE TOP BEFORE YOUR COMMENT:

period_FirstName_LastName (ex.3_Adam_Strong)

I __________ agree with the terms and conditions present in Mr. Strong’s online syllabus.

Failure to follow any of these rules will result in a disciplinary action.